


In a kingdom by the sea

by ssa_archivist



Category: Smallville
Genre: Alternate Universe, Drama, Established Relationship, Futurefic, M/M, hurt-comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2005-12-09
Updated: 2005-12-09
Packaged: 2017-11-01 04:35:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,252
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/351998
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ssa_archivist/pseuds/ssa_archivist
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The reports of his death were premature. [01/01/04]</p>
            </blockquote>





	In a kingdom by the sea

## In a kingdom by the sea

by silvina

[]()

* * *

Standard Disclaimer. If they were mine I'd punish them when they were bad, and this might be a different show altogether. Please send comments, questions, compliments, and otters to sdelcul@yahoo.com. 

Johnny Kent understood about the birds and the bees. At the age of eight it had been explained to him about the miracle of life and the miracle of his life, by both of his grandparents. He still hadn't asked about his father, already aware of the sadness it brought his mother and grandparents to talk about him. He'd come to the conclusion that his father had died. It couldn't have been easy for them at first, but when his mother died giving birth they took him in and raised him with love. He knew she'd only been sixteen when she became pregnant with him, and that it must have been hard, especially in Smallville where sex education was a few videos about the miracle of life and a lecture on the immorality of premarital sex. He knew that his grandparents had not been happy at first, but he had memories of them going back to his early childhood, and they'd always loved him. 

Until the age of 16 he'd been perfectly happy with his life. It was his birthday party that changed everything. Aunt Chloe had stopped by, and he'd convinced her to stay for his party. 

Most teenagers wouldn't have wanted an adult at their party if they could help it, but Aunt Chloe was different. Maybe it was because she wasn't his real aunt or maybe it was just a part of how cool she was, but Aunt Chloe was the best. She'd taught him to play poker and let him sip her champagne last New Year's Eve. 

It was a good party, and at 2:30 when he went to bed he was almost asleep. Then something freaky happened with his hearing and he was listening to his grandfather and Aunt Chloe as she left. 

"16 years, Mr. Kent." 

"I know, Chloe, I know." 

"You should string the bastard up." 

"Chloe." 

"Lex Luthor is the one to blame for Clark's not being here and you know it." 

Their voices faded just as suddenly, but he was wide awake now. Clark. That was his father. And Lex Luthor. He'd heard that name occasionally. Mostly followed my a muttered curse as in the case of his grandfather or other men of his generation. 

He did some research at school the next day, and learned a little more. When Lex Luthor left Smallville without an explanation, Lionel Luthor closed the fertilizer plant. Hundreds of people were suddenly out of work. It had taken years for the community to recover and everybody had been affected. Lionel Luthor had died, leaving everything to his son. Lex Luthor sold his various interests and seemingly disappeared. 

If Lex Luthor had something to do with his father's death, then Johnathon Jerome Lang would make him pay. 

He knew that asking for permission was pointless. He left a note, apologizing and promising to return and headed to Metropolis. From there it was fairly easy to track Lex Luthor to Michigan. He was the head of some fancy research company. In this town it seemed, he was just another guy. 

John knew how small towns worked, and he knew that a stranger asking questions about a resident would spread rumors quickly. Besides, he didn't have time for such an indirect route. 

In the end it wasn't hard to come up with an alternative plan. He knew that Lex Luthor drove fast. Every town of this kind had a Dead Man's Lane or its equivalent. Even locals slowed down as they passed the curve, but Lex Luthor wasn't most people. It was easy for John to calculate the vectors and velocity necessary. If he stood where he was standing, and Lex Luthor drove as he tended to drive . . . 

A close call, after which Luthor should be feeling guilty enough, Johnny figured, to owe him one. And he'd collect until Lex Luthor didn't know what hit him. 

"God, kid. What the hell were you doing?" Lex Luthor hurried out of the car and Johnny turned teary eyes toward him. 

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to-" 

"Calm down. It's okay. You're fine, I'm fine. The car's fine. Everything's fine." 

He started sobbing, and waited. Luthor patted him on the back, and Johnny launched himself into his arms. Luthor returned the hug, and tried to calm him down. He seemed fairly nice, actually, until Johnny reminded himself of why he was there. 

"You okay now?" 

He nodded. 

"What were you doing out there anyway?" 

He shrugged. 

"You weren't hitching, were you?" 

He shrugged again, knowing it would be more convincing. 

"How old are you?" 

"18." 

"Hmm. I'd say more like 15." 

"I'm 16," he replied automatically. 

"Mhm. Runaway?" 

"No." 

"Sure kid. Well, I can't very well leave you here. Come on." 

Carefully he got in the car and let Mr. Luthor drive him to his house, backpack held in front of him like a shield. "I don't guess you'd tell me your real name." 

He frowned, and shook his head. 

"I'll need something to call you. Something that suits you. What about . . . Jack? Is that okay?" 

"Jack." he rolled it on his tongue." Okay." 

"I'm Lex, by the way. Lex Luthor." 

"Are you hungry?" He nodded, because he was hungry, and Lex made him a sandwich, and then another. "Tired?" 

And he was, so he nodded again. 

"There's a spare bedroom down that hallway," he pointed, "and a bathroom right next to it with clean towels. Feel free to shower and clean up. I'm up early tomorrow, but if you need anything just buzz me over the intercom." 

He nodded a third time, and Lex patted his shoulder again before heading out of the kitchen. 

He showered, glad to feel the hot water pounding on his neck and shoulder muscles. Here was shampoo and conditioner in those little hotel bottles, but he just used the soap to wash his hair. He was reaching for the handle to turn off the water when his hearing went all wonky again. 

"I'm sorry I'm late. What is it with teenagers and throwing themselves in front of my car? . . . No, I'm okay. Anyway, we have a new houseguest for a while. For the moment his name is Jack. How was your day? . . . Good. I missed you." Lex laughed. "Don't be surprised. I'm a happily married man." 

And then the chill of the water reached him and everything was normal again. 

Even exhausted he was awake early. Smelling something good he wandered into the kitchen and found Lex cooking. "I was going to leave a note so as to not wake you, but I'm about to have breakfast if you'd like to join me." 

"Okay. I'm, thanks for letting me stay." 

"You're welcome, Jack. Stay as long as you need to." 

"Can I help with anything?" 

"Grab the juice out of the fridge, would you? Glasses are in the cabinet above the sink." 

He studied the refrigerator pensively. The medicine cabinet in the bathroom had been boring. Soap, shampoo, conditioner, toothpaste, a new toothbrush, and a new razor. The fridge was interesting. Half the contents were junkfood, half were fruits, vegetables, and other assorted healthy foods, including the juice. He grabbed the juice and served two glasses as Lex placed a stack of pancakes in front of him and sat down across from him with a smaller stack. 

"Eat." 

"Thanks." He dug in. "Mm. These are really good. They remind me of my grandmother's." 

"Speaking of families, and I promise that this is the last time I'll mention it unless you bring it up, but if you decide to call your family I won't mind. There must be someone worried about you. Mother, father-" 

"My father is dead." 

"I'm sorry." 

"It's okay. He died before I was born. My mother died giving birth." He fell silent, having told Lex much more then he'd planned to. 

Perhaps sensing that he'd made his guest uncomfortable, Lex changed the subject abruptly. "If you'd like to come to work with me today, you can. It should be slightly more interesting then daytime television." 

"What do you do?" 

"I'm a scientist. Biochemistry. My company does cancer research. Interested?" 

Despite his intention, he was interested. He could always find an excuse to return at lunch and snoop around. "Sure. Do I need to change clothes?" 

"Nah. You'll be fine as it. It helps to know the boss." 

Surprised at Lex's sense of humor, Johnny laughed. "Okay." 

Lex's company was a large, oval building. At the gate was a tastefully classic sign. "Lillian Research. Lillian?" 

"My mother. She died of breast cancer." 

The more time he spent with Lex, the more he was beginning to genuinely like him. He didn't seem like a killer. At lunch he claimed tiredness, and Lex asked, not ordered he noticed, if somebody was going home for lunch. 

"I'm done in about fifteen minutes if you can wait for me." said a dark haired woman. 

Lex looked at him, and he nodded. "Thanks Susan." He took a key off his key ring. "You'll need this to get in." 

Susan was more than willing to chat about her boss. "Don't tell him I said so, but I'd probably work for free if I wasn't putting my kids through private school." 

"He's a good boss?" 

"The best." 

He waved at Susan as she pulled out, and then used the key Lex had given him to let himself into the house. He was headed toward the bedroom he was using when he heard someone in the kitchen and almost jumped out of his skin. Cautiously he stepped into the kitchen. 

Thieves didn't sit in people's kitchens drinking soda and eating candy bars. 

"Uh, hi." 

The man in the kitchen swallowed, and smiled. "Hi, you must be Jake." 

He nodded. The man held out a hand, belatedly realizing that it was stained with melted chocolate. "Sorry," he said, wiping his hand off on a dishcloth. "I caught an earlier flight, and didn't trust the mystery breakfast meat. I hate airplane food, don't you? I'm Mark, by the way, Lex's husband." 

He stared at the man's hand and gulped. "Husband?" 

Thankfully the man didn't seem offended, because he just laughed. "He didn't tell you?" 

He shrugged in embarrassment. 

"Figures. We've been together so long that he forgets there are people who don't know." 

Jake relaxed and shook the man's hand with a smile. "How long have you been together?" 

"Fourteen years. Fifteen in a couple of months. I've known Lex for almost seventeen years though. Believe it or not, we met when he almost hit me with his car." Mark's eyes twinkled and Jake felt like he knew him. He didn't want to like Lex's husband, and he didn't want to like Lex, but they weren't making it easy. What kind of man could stay married for fourteen years, give his keys to a complete stranger, and kill a man? 

He searched for something to say. "Lex took me to his company this morning." 

"Did you enjoy it?" 

"It was cool. Lex really seems to enjoy his work. He wanted to show me everything." 

Mark sighed. "Lex is a scientist. His curiosity knows no bounds. Sometimes I wonder if he loves his test tubes more then he loves me." 

"No, you don't." They both turned as Lex leaned in the doorway. "Everybody knows those test tubes come in a close second." Lex moved into the kitchen and threw Jake a distracted smile. It was obvious though, that his attention was fully on Mark; his eyes were drinking the man in. 

They kissed briefly and Lex sat down beside Mark. Jake figured that from the look of things they were holding hands under the table. It was kind of cute in a nauseating kind of way. 

"So what do you do, Mark?' 

"I'm a writer. Historical fiction mostly. I was doing research for my next book." 

"What's it about?" 

"The Royal Canadian Mounted Police." 

"Mounties." grinned Lex, and Mark whacked him with their joined hands, proving Johnny right on at least one note. 

"Yeah, Mounties." Mark said. Lex just snickered. 

Jake yawned, not entirely faking tiredness. "I think I'm going to take a nap if you don't mind." 

"Not at all," Lex replied. "Should we wake you for dinner?" 

"Yes, please." 

A half hour later that thing with his hearing happened again. and he found himself listening to Lex and Mark in their bedroom. Blushing, he realized that they must have had sex. 

"I like him." Mark was saying. 

"I like him, too." 

Mark laughed. "I like you." 

"I like you, too." 

"You know, he seems so . . . familiar." 

"Besides the way we met, you mean?" 

"Yeah." 

"He reminds me of you then, actually." 

"How so?" 

"He's got the same build you did." 

"Are you insinuating that I've let myself go?" 

"Not at all. Same chin, the eyes too. He could practically be your son." 

"Lex, if this is how you tell me that you're pregnant . . . " 

Lex laughed. "God, I missed you. Missed this." 

"I missed you, too. I was worried that without me you'd resort to sleeping in the lab." 

"Once. I did that once. And it was only because the project was at a critical-" 

"Mhm." 

"It's your fault you know." 

"How's that." 

"Obviously you're just losing your touch." 

"Oh yeah?" 

"Prove it." Lex moaned. 

It sounded like he was trying to smother another moan, and Mark was laughing. 

He fell asleep smiling. 

* * *

And woke up frowning. Dinner was tranquil. Mark and Lex chatted, and they made an effort to include him, but Jake felt out of place and awkward. He had to keep reminding himself that he was on a mission, and that liking Lex and Mark wasn't part of that mishion. 

He started working at the local grocery store, convinced that either Lex or Mark had helped him get the job with no references. The temptation to call home was immense, but it couldn't hold a candle to his need to know about his father, and Lex Luthor was the key to whole mystery. 

He slept badly that night. He'd been in Michigan two weeks already, and he hadn't learned anything except that Lex Luthor didn't seem the same man he'd read about in Smallville Kansas. That thought gave him an idea. 

* * *

They were having an argument, and it scared him actually. He'd never seen them argue over anything more important than control of the remote control, but this sounded serious. Neither Lex nor Mark was yelling, but their voices were filled with tension. 

"It's Metropolis. You could go, see how you feel." 

"Don't ask me to do that, Lex. I can't go back." 

"Please? You can stay in the hotel room, but you're the only one that can. It's three hours away." 

"There are plenty of people who might recognize me. What if we run into Chloe, for example. She's working at the Daily Planet." 

Aunt Chloe? How would Mark know Aunt Chloe? 

"What's to recognize? Fifteen years have made a difference. Clark Kent doesn't exist anymore. I made sure of that." 

He'd broken through the door, somehow breaking through it like it was wallpaper. Mark had stepped in front of Lex, and he had to go around him to reach the man who'd killed his father. 

"It _is_ true." he said, horrified. "You killed him. You killed my father, you bastard!" His hands were around Lex's neck and although he was pushing away as hard as he could, Johnathon Jerome Lang had never felt so strong. 

A split second later he was flying through the air away from his father's killer, banging his head hard against the wall. He could see two Marks helping two Lexs as the Lexs struggled to breath. 

"What the hell is wrong with you, Jake?" Lex wheezed as Mark rubbed his back. 

"You're a murderer." 

"Phelan was self-defense." Mark told him. 

He knew about Phelan. "Not him. Clark Kent. You killed Clark Kent." 

"I never killed Clark Kent," Lex said, and the look he threw Mark seemed to Johnny that of a man trying to lie. 

"Lex didn't kill Clark Kent," said Mark. "I did." 

Johnny pulled himself to his feet, trying to understand what was going on. 

"I killed Clark Kent the day I became Mark Luthor." 

"Wait a minute. Father?" 

'My mother's name was Lana Lang." 

Lex whirled around to Mark. "You slept with her?" 

"I don't think so. At least not that I remember." 

"You don't remember if you slept with the girl of your dreams before telling me you loved me?" 

"Loved? Lex, no, I love you." 

"Oh my god. You're my father?" 

Lex was in his face as soon as he spoke up. "I don't buy it. What does she want? Money? She had her chance." 

"Lex!" and Mark, no Clark, --his father-- was pulling Lex back, wrapping his arms around him to hold Lex in place. Even so, Lex was twitching with energy. Clark began whispering in his ear, and Lex finally closed his eyes briefly and relaxed. Johnny wished he could control the thing with his hearing to hear what Clark was saying. 

"I promised." Clark said clearly. "Remember that." 

"Yes," Lex replied. "Yes, you did." 

They sat down, and so did Johnny. 

Lex took control and Johnny could see now the Lex he'd heard and read about. 

"How do we know you're telling the truth?" 

"You said it yourself that night. 'He could practically be your son.'" 

"You heard that," Clark broke in. "Lex he _heard_ that." 

"What's your name? Your real name." 

"Johnathon Jerome Lang." 

"When were-" 

"Lex. Stop. It's true. It has to be." 

Clark laid a hand on Lex's thigh and Johnny knew he'd been saved from the interrogation of his life by his father's intervention.--His father was alive.-- "why did you leave me?" 

"I didn't know. I swear." 

Johnny wanted to believe him, but something didn't fit. 

"The meteor rocks," Lex said suddenly. 

"Yes," Clark said. "It has to be." He started laughing. 

"What's funny?" He asked, but he could tell that it was more hysterical than amused. 

"Clark, calm down. It's okay. Everything's going to be fine." 

"I have a son, Lex. And I left him alone without answers. Lex- I-" 

"It's not your fault. You didn't know." 

"I didn't know because I ran away." 

They appeared to have forgotten he was there. 

"I ran away, Lex. How were they supposed to tell me?" 

"Bullshit. They never believed me when I said I didn't know where Clark Kent was. They could have told me. If I knew where you were and was your friend at all I'd have to tell you something like that. They didn't think I would. Your father will never look at me and not see my father." Lex said bitterly. 

"You're not your father." 

"And you're not either. This isn't your fault." 

"So what do we do now?" 

"I don't know. I think we're going to have to go to Smallville, though." 

"We?" 

"Yeah, we." Lex held up his left hand showing a simple, platinum band. "Forever, remember?" 

Clark smiled. "Forever." 

"Jake, I mean, Johnathon." 

"Yeah?" he asked sullenly, feeling like he'd been ignored. 

"I'd like you to meet your father, Clark Kent." 

And Lex gave Clark a little push forward. Johnny stood up and before he knew it his _father_ was holding him tightly. 

Teenage boys do not cry, not under any circumstances, but he was pretty close to tears. 

Eventually they decided to have dinner, avoiding further discussion until morning. There was no way he was going to be able to sleep. He'd never needed much anyway. 

He tossed and turned for over an hour before he heard the soft knock. "Come in." 

"I figured you'd still be awake, but I wanted to wait until Lex was asleep. This whole things made him a little nervous." 

"Nervous? He wasn't nervous when I thought he was a murderer and he's nervous now?" 

"I fell in love with Lana Lang the first day of middle school. She was everything I thought I wanted or should want. For a short while I seriously thought we were meant to be, and I couldn't see anything else, including that she didn't love me the way I loved her. Plus, my father hated the Luthors, and Lex especially." 

"But it's been fifteen years." 

"There's always a part of Lex that's sure I'll give him up for my parents and Lana. John, I love my parents and I did care for your mother, but I need Lex. I wouldn't have made it without him." 

"I get that, and I like Lex, honest, but I don't understand what happened. Why Grandma and Pop didn't just tell me that you weren't dead." 

"I think they were still trying to protect me. They couldn't have children of their own, and they were always worried that someone would take me away." 

"Yeah, me." Lex was in the doorway, and he smiled like he was joking but his eyes were red from a lack of sleep. John understood suddenly the difference Clark had made to Lex, and that, when it came to the Kent family, Lex was unsure of his welcome. 

He thought suddenly of the Lex who'd taken him in, who'd offered him a chance to call home and left it alone, and he knew what he had to do. He stood up and walked toward the man he'd hated and liked, who watched him warily. 

Then Johnny did the last thing Lex Luthor expected. He hugged. Hard. 

It took a moment but Lex finally hugged back. It felt good. 

When he opened his eyes, he was look into his father's eyes, and he knew that his father was proud of him. That felt even better. 

"I was thinking," Lex said as they all sat down. 

"I thought I smelled something burning." 

Johnny snickered and Clark gave him a noogie. 

"Ahem. I was thinking that none of us are really going to get any sleep, so we might as well start driving." 

* * *

It was weird being back in Smallville, even weirder coming back with Lex and his father. They'd let him drive from Metropolis, but he thought it was mostly because they were both too nervous. 

Johnny wasn't nervous, he was excited. He'd wanted this his entire life. 

When he pulled into the driveway his grandmother was on the front porch. Before she recognized them, he thought she looked older than he'd ever seen her. 

"Johnny?" His grandmother said, and he stepped out of the car and ran to hug her. 

"I brought someone with me, Grandma." He grinned and watched her face as his father took his place in her arms. 

"I missed you, Mom." 

"Clark? Oh God, Johnathon! They're back! They're both back!" 

"Martha? What's going- John! Clark!" 

The hugs were begun again. Martha began shepherding them all inside when Johnny saw Clark head to the car again, and realized that Lex hadn't gotten out. This time he consciously sent his hearing out. 

"I'm sure, Clark. You all need this time together first. Besides, someone has to air out the castle." 

"Fine, but don't you dare fall asleep without kissing me good night." 

"Clark-" 

"You can skip out now, Lex, but I'm not trading you in. Everything else will figure itself out." 

Lex chuckled. "I had to marry an optimist." 

"Of course. I love you." 

"I love you, too." 

There was talking and hugging and even some kissing from Martha, which Johnny allowed just this one time. 

Dinner was the best, all of his favorites. Finally they were in the living room having coffee, tea, and milk. 

"So what happens now?" he asked, and everybody looked at him. 

"Well," Clark said finally, "I head back to the mansion. Knowing Lex he'll have everything from the other house here by tomorrow morning. Everything else can wait until tomorrow." 

"You're leaving?" Johnathon started. 

"Dad, please." He held up his left hand. "We've been married for fifteen years. I told him I'd be back. Tomorrow will be soon enough. Besides," and he grinned to show that he was kidding now. "you know you want to grill my son about everything." 

Mollified slightly, Johnathon backed down. There was a moment of awkward silence, and to break it Johnny spoke up. 

"Well, I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm going to bed." 

"I'll tuck you in," his father said, and by the time Johnny realized he really meant it, it was too late. 

"I'm too old to be tucked in." 

"Humor me. I never got to do it when you weren't too old for it." Clark said lightly. 

"All right, all ready. No more mushy stuff." 

His father made a face, and Johnny pretty much knew what was going to happen, but he kind of wanted it to.. Clark leaned over and kissed his forehead. "I love you." 

Johnny waited until his father was almost at the door before he replied. "I love you, too." He waited a split second. "Dad." 

From the hitch in Clark's step he knew he'd been heard. 

Exhausted he fell asleep quickly. Everything, he was sure, would be okay. Even if he was going to be grounded until he turned eighty. 


End file.
